Written by Ed Kulp
All characters, symbols, and Final Fantasy copyright of
Squaresoft, Inc.
Prepare for some different characterization.
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Chapter One:
Narshe's Take on the Empire
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One thousand years ago, the War of the Magi reduced the world to barren wastelands, and magic ceased to exist. Iron, gunpowder, and machinery were, in time, rediscovered. Now, technology reigns the
planet again. There are still those who would enslave the world by
reviving the dread destructive force known as "magic." Can it be that
they which wish for such a thing are about to make an apocalyptic and
senseless mistake...?
Three soldiers trudged up the mountainside. Two were males,
dressed up in brown uniforms issued by the Empire. The other was a
girl, with red armor and green hair. Her face was emotionless. The three
rode in armor suits known as Magitek, which were large robotic attack
machines. "There's the town..." said Captain Biggs.
"It's hard to believe that there's an Esper in there," stated Wedge.
"Do you think it's alive still?" queried Biggs.
"Probably, judging by Kefka's vehemence in the briefing," assured Wedge.
Biggs glanced at the girl. "Why is she here? I thought she killed fifty of our soldiers-- and in three minutes!"
"That slave crown on her head manipulates her into doin' what we tell her to do. There's no prob as long as she has that," said Wedge.
Biggs looked into the snowy horizon as he adjusted his Imperial helmet. His gloved fingers slid icily across it. "We're going to approach Narshe from the east. Let's head out!"
The snow raged by the three. Their Magitek armors creaked from the frost. Biggs' eyes stung from the icy winds. In the darkness of night, the snowcapped mountains loomed as if sentinels. Narshe finally came into view.
Narshe was a lovely town at night. Were Biggs on vacation here, he'd surely enjoy getting frostbite in such a place. "Let's put the girl on point. There's no sense in US being risked. Forward!" said Wedge.
The Magitek crashed upon the metal gratings. From the ringing sound coming out of Wedge's unit, he had broken leg hydraulics. All of Narshe could hear them going forth. Smoke poured from chimneys. The "Paradise" Inn passed them quickly upon the right. If Biggs weren't on duty, he'd have stopped for a drink or three. That, and if he wasn't in an Empire warzone. Lords, he wanted to be sloshed right about now.
A Narshe guard rushed up at the trio, holding back two giant
Dobermans. "Pompous Magitek-ridin' pigs!! Sic 'em!" the guard cried,
unleashing the Dobermans and pulling out his own sword.
The girl alongside Biggs shouted an order at her Magitek unit
monotonously. It charged forth, opened its chest compartment, and
sprayed riot gas. Inhaling the gas, the guard and dogs shriveled and fell,
obviously deceased. "...the hell was that??" wondered Wedge.
The girl opened her mouth, but said nothing. "Ignore that, Wedge. Let's just...keep going." said Biggs.
Security wasn't quite as tight as expected, but there was another pair of guards lumbering towards them. "I got this one! ...huh?" said Wedge. A guard slashed at Wedge ferociously, carving into him and his Magitek. "You bastard! Aaagh! The Magitek's scratched! Kefka's gonna kill me!!" Wedge channeled his energy into the Magitek cannon, and fired lightning through the same guard. The girl closed her eyes.
"Is she unconscious?!" asked Biggs.
"Sir!! Watch out!" interrupted Wedge. Biggs, whose back was
turned, is gashed by the remaining guard.
"Arrogant Imperial scum! Don't you turn yer back on me!"
screamed the guard. The girl opened her eyes as blue beams
surrounded the guard, and he slowly disappears. Biggs stood silent.
"Hmph. Fifty guards, indeed," muttered Wedge.
The item shop was a horrid sight--small, jammed in-between its neighboring buildings as if it were made half-assedly, alongside a crappy paintjob. Its windmills almost broke from the wind. The intersection showed how the town looked alike on all sides. Biggs wouldn't have known which way was which if he were spun around and ordered to walk one way--or if he got blitzed. The thought of which just made him want to finish this assignment faster.
Snow gradually replaced grating, and the caverns drew closer. A large group of guards and their pet mammoths engaged them. Biggs fired a beam of ice energy from his Magitek cannon at one of the guards. The girl fired a large, armor-piercing missile at a mammoth, which vanished promptly. Wedge flowed electricity through the remaining guard. It was then that Biggs was sent sprawling from the mammoth's tusks. "Captain!!" cried Wedge.
The girl waved her arms and sent a wash of flames at the
mammoth, engulfing it. "Let's keep going," sighed Biggs.
"You're wounded!" stated Wedge.
"Listen to yerself... damn it, don't you worry about me!"
admonished Biggs. As they stepped through, bridges passed overhead.
A large mineshaft entrance stood before them.
"...according to our sources, the frozen Esper was found...in here," stated Wedge.
Inside, candles flickered sparsely. There was barely enough light to see, let alone walk. Biggs stepped on a rat, which squeaked loudly as he did so. "Place's infested," said Biggs blandly.
"Y'don't say, captain," Wedge said sarcastically.
A large door was before them now. It stood twenty feet tall and
fifteen feet across. From the look of it, no humans could open the
massive thing. "Stand back...I got it," said Biggs, stepping backwards and
then dashing into the door. It crumbled in upon itself from the Magitek's
force.
"Wow, Captain...you're sooo strong," Wedge laughed. Biggs was
silent as he stepped over the debris and into the doorway. A guard,
stumbling over himself, approached them.
"We're not giving up the Esper! Whelk, get 'em!!" called the guard.
Biggs and Wedge exchanged glances, as soon as a pair of eyes
glinted in the quasi-darkness. The eyes were followed by a long, slimy
pink head and a shell adorned with spikes the size of Magitek. This
'Whelk' was a gigantic...snail. "Hold it! Remember our briefing?" asked
Biggs.
"What about it?!" demanded Wedge.
"This thing stores thunder in its shell...so whatever you do, only attack the head!!" stated Biggs.
"How do you know that this is what they were talking about?!"
asked Wedge.
Biggs stared at him a moment. "I don't exactly see any other
gargantuan snails around here. Do you? Now, attack!" Biggs said,
smugly.
Wedge cursed at him under the noise of his Fire cannon. The eyes seemed to scorch and pop a little. Biggs followed suit, and the eyes
scorched moreso. Their girl companion opened her Magitek's chest
cannon and fired a missile at the head. "Gruuu..." grumbled Whelk as the
cave rumbled along with him. It withdrew into its shell, but Wedge was
already firing at it again.
"Stooppp!!" Biggs screamed at Wedge.
"CRAP!" Wedge cursed as the flames licked the pearled shell. The shell glowed, and a pillar of thunder shocked through Wedge's Magitek. "Ahhhh?!" he inclined his voice as the Magitek began to overheat.
"It's gonna blow! JUMP!!" Biggs called. Lightning flickered through and around the Magitek armor. Wedge, eyes wide in horror, crouched to leap off.
As he was springing up, the armor imploded upon itself, and
Wedge was sent flying from the momentum. He lay there, bloody. Biggs
roared a battle cry, and whirled on Whelk, who was just coming out of
his shell. "DAMN YOU!!!!" He unloaded his Magitek energy on the head,
firing fire and ice beams from each cannon. The girl, undaunted by
Wedge's condition, sent another missile to collide with Whelk's soft head. Whelk screamed at them, and its head collapsed on the floor. Biggs controlled his Magitek over to where Wedge lay. "Are ya...Wedge, are you dead?!"
No response came from the soldier. "WEDGE!!" Biggs cried,
jumping from his Magitek and checking on him.
Wedge coughed blood. He was still alive, but in unstable condition. "I'm...alright," coughed Wedge.
"Don't lie! You're near enough dead!" Biggs stated.
"Captain? Why're you so concerned?" Wedge asked.
Biggs coughed, and said smoothly, "It won't look good for my
record if I let my subordinate die." Biggs didn't want to tell Wedge that
he saw him as a friend--that was a weakness as an Imperial soldier.
"If you say so, Captain," Wedge said doubtfully. Biggs ignored him, and dragged him up to his own Magitek armor.
"Let's go, " Biggs said simply. He scooped up a potion, and moved into the next cavern.
The area was large, roomy, and airy. It smelled of frost...if frost
really even had a smell. Maybe it was just that Biggs was getting used to
the cold. A small set of stairs led up to a large ice crystal. "That must be
it. The frozen Esper..." said Biggs. The crystal hums, and glints blue.
The girl alongside him looked at the crystal and the Esper inside, with a lamentatious look upon her face. For once, she showed some emotion. "What's up? Why're you...? Biggs--the slave crown isn't
working?!" said Wedge, mixedly.
Biggs was silent, as the girl approached the Esper. The Esper
began to glow blue. "Where's the light coming from?! ...Uwaaaahh!!"
Wedge shrieked, and vanished from Biggs' Magitek cockpit.
Biggs' eyes widened. "Hey!? Wedge? WEDGE!?! What's going on...?!" he cried.
Biggs' last sight was the azure light pouring from both the girl and the Esper, as her Magitek exploded and Biggs, too, died a death fit only for the "Imperial scum" that he was...
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Her eyes opened, fluttering and fleetingly. A high ceiling towered over her. "Where...am I? My head hurts..." the girl asked. She turned her head to observe the room. It was rather blue, with a red carpet contrasting it vividly. She was lying in a bed, and she had several scars on her forearms. They sill burned. The room, in itself, was also warm.
An elderly man stood before her now. He had fair hair which
turned gray at the sides of his head, and stood about five and a half feet
tall--the same as her. Her eyes focused upon him, as he pursed his lips to
speak. "Take it easy, there. You're still injured. Ahh, well, you're in
Narshe now. I figured that you wouldn't remember getting here," said
the man.
The girl's brow furrowed in thought, but it hurt her so to do it.
"Why wouldn't I remember anything?" she asked of him.
"Well, you don't remember anything, do you?" he asked--well,
hypothetically, at least. He didn't expect any answer. After observing
her puzzlement, he held up a darkened silver crown. "This, my dear, is a
slave crown. The Empire used it to manipulate your actions. They're
getting a bit rare nowadays--I'm surprised that they used one on one so
precious to them. They're dangerous, after all," he rambled.
"...why don't I remember anything?" she asked him.
"I was just getting to that, my dear. They render memory useless while a person wears it. You'll recall everything within a year or so," he said to her, smiling warmly.
In the reflection of the slave crown, she saw herself. Not more
than eighteen, with light green hair. She wore red and white armor, and
she looked clueless. "...my name is Terra," the girl said, still looking at
her reflection.
The man jumped with a start. "I've never heard of anyone
recovering that fast..." said he, with surprise.
The front door came under much scratching. Voices could be
heard behind it. Dogs' barks came from the door. "Give us the girl and
the Empire's Magitek armor! She is an officer! Return her!" shouted a
voice.
"What's this Empire? What's a Magitek? And who are you?" Terra asked.
"Th-there's no time to explain all of that! All in due time, Terra!
Now, quickly! Out the back door; I'll hold them off!" he said hurriedly to
her, motioning to the door just behind the bed.
Without wasting any time, she made a break for the door and
swung it wide open. She could hear the front door being broken down by
enraged Imperials. Closing the door behind her, she dashed across a
long bridge outside. The wind was cold against her skin, and the night
was very blustery, especially up as high as she was. Guards gathered
below her. They shouted something unintelligible to each other, and
made off towards the mountains to the north. She enters the mineshafts, guided only by barely-alit lanterns.
The place smelled of old lamp oil. Terra's eyes hurt from the
darkness, as she strained to see. A glint approached her fast. "What's
that?" she asked to herself, looking at it fast approaching. Eyes widening
as it did not cease, she ducked. A wrench struck the wall beside her. She
whirled back to see a guard dressed as a mechanic, opening his tool box
for another wrench. Behind him was a gaseous blue vapor.
"Where do you think you're going?" said the guard, dashing at her with his wrench. The vaporite hissed and spread over her. She found herself slowed down signifcantly, as well as being struck repeatedly by the guard. She unsheathed her knife and ran him through. As the guard slumped to the ground, she ignited the vaporite with Fire. It hissed wildly as it faded.
Terra rested a while, letting her burns cool a little. She was
startled, however, by more voices. "We got her!" one said.
Springing up, she backed away from the new plethora of guards. The wall was nearing her back as they closed in on her. Their toothy grins were dark under their umberish hats. Terra's left foot found no restistance suddenly--nor did her right foot. She was falling fast through the caves. The guards rushed faster still towards her, but did not follow her.
She collided with a softer turf below. She got up for a moment, but her vision blurred. She collapsed to the floor, and her consciousness
vanished.
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The door swung open. The young fellow had just left the mines to the north, and smiled at the warmth of the home. Adjusting his
headband, he strode into the den. His elderly friend stood there, staring
off into the fireplace.
"Crap! He went and had a heart attack on me! Waaaake up, old
man!" the young man cried, shaking him adamantly.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Locke!?" demanded the old man.
Locke grinned as the man recomposed himself. "Just checkin' up on ya, Arvis," he said with flair.
Arvis looked at Locke sheepishly. "It took you long enough to get here, might I say. How's your thievery going?" he asked Locke.
Locke turned red with fury. "I PREFER the term 'Treasure
Hunter'!"
"What semantic nonsense," Arvis replied.
"There's a HUGE difference, old timer!" Locke shouted.
Arvis shook his head. "Anyway, I called you here for a reason. I want you to meet up with...a girl," he said hesitantly.
Locke's ears perked up as if he were an elf. "A girl?! Is she hot?" he said, grinning.
Arvis looked daggers at him. "Just because you haven't scored
since your last girlfriend doesn't mean that you need to act like a horny
teenager every breathing moment!" he admonished.
Locke's eyes widened. "Quiiiet! A lady might hear you!" he said, looking around wildly.
Arvis shook his head again. "You're familiar with the female
Imperial soldier, correct? The Magitek Knight?"
Locke turned red again. "Her?!? Come on! Give me something to work with, Arvis!!"
Arvis was the one to turn red with fury this time. "Now listen
here! Imperials are currently raiding this city! I implore you, help her!
I'll talk to the elder and request membership with that underground
resistance movement, the Returners. Narshe can't survive this
neutrality. Your job--" Arvis eyeballed Locke, pausing, "--is to help the
Imperial girl out. She was drafted unwillingly, shall we say."
Locke waved away Arvis' threats. "Yeah, yeah...save the girl and romance later? What a crock..."
Arvis looked unbothered by the youth's constant idiocy. "Whether you like it or not, you're going to help her. I suggest doing it whether you like it," Arvis said in a no-nonsense, ominous way. His eyes shifted towards the large broadsword mounted on his wall.
Locke smiled uneasily. "Hey-hey-hey now! There's no reason to get all aggressive! (especially not with ol' Excalibur over there!)" said Locke, with the latter part under his breath. "I'll do it."
Arvis smiled warmly, a cool comparison to how he had been ever since Locke had first opened his mouth. "Good. You'll find her in the Mines. After you find her, head first to Figaro Castle and talk with King Edgar. He'll help us Narshians out," said Arvis in his traditional
gentlemanly tone.
"Got it. Seeya later, pops!" Locke said impishly, dashing back out the door, returning to the mines.
Arvis stood stock-still, and then shook his head. "I swear, that boy does it just to irk me..."
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Locke found a large hole in the ground, not far from the walls. It was barely visible in the dark. Looking down, he noticed someone. Locke heard voices off to his right, where crude steps were fashioned out of stone. Could the Empire have found her already? Dismissing the matter, he knelt to pound a stake into the ground. Satisfied with the sturdiness, he rummaged through his pack to retrieve a length of rope. Still bent, he tied it around the stake snugly. Geronimo! thought Locke.
He shimmied down, trying not to burn his hands. It was not a long way--a person could probably jump down and land cattishly. If they
didn't quite nail the jump, however, it would be lights out for them
swiftly.
The cave was well-lit (for a cave), and the lanterns seemed to have fresh fuel in them. Many stalagmites formed a short distance ahead, but considering that Locke was hardly the one to care for mine architecture (but then again, who is?), he couldn't help but notice them. Before him was a girl, face-down in the dirt. Oddly enough, she had emerald hair. Locke pondered this a moment. "Green? Must be one of those 'newfangled dyes' that Arvis keeps talkin' about," he brushed the matter off, and hauled the girl up to a sitting position. She was very unconscious (if such a thing can be measured in degrees, she was well off to be measured), and dirt caked her arms and face, where she had apparently fallen. Locke grinned to himself, pretending to talk to her. "You're quite the dirty one, aren't ya?" as he laughingly smudged away some grime.
Footsteps loomed in the air. Locke let go of the green-haired lass, who sat still. He rose to his feet, looking past the stalagmites. A
cavalcade of soldiers were descending the stairs. "One...two-three...four-five-six...seven?! Dammit! How the hell do I take on all of these bozos?!!" he yelled.
"There they are!!" a footsoldier exclaimed.
Locke began to sweat great beads. Looking around, he found no escape. As the Imperials approached, an unusual sound came from
behind him. He turned to hear it, once again.
Kupo!
Small, three-foot-tall, batwinged cream puff creatures emerged from a small offshoot chasm. A singular red ball floated above each head, as if impaired antennae. Kupo!
"Moogles?" Locke said, with a nigh-inquisitive tone in his voice.
They all nod, and cry out again. Kupo! Kupo! Kupo!
"Are you...saying you'll help me out with these punks?" Locke
looked at each one's eyes, each seeming polished to perfection. One,
larger than the others, shook his head.
"Whaaaaaat!?" Locke exclaimed, restraining himself from
strangling the death-wishing moogle.
The moogle, playfully, laughed at him, then made a gesture with its stubby paw. It then nodded, and readied its lance. The others brandished their own armaments. Locke looked abashed, but drew his own dirk nevertheless. "Now, you stay right here, sweetie," Locke murmured at the girl, winking at her. Unsurprisingly, she didn't make any nasty retorts, as perfect strangers ofttimes do.
They went to work fast and gruesomely. The largest moogle ran soldiers through without mercy. A moogle fighting beside Locke bashed in a guard's head with its club. Locke felt insignificant to these
bloodthirsty, adorable beings.
An Imperial rushed at Locke, shortsword drawn readily. He
swiped at Locke in a cleave. Laughing and taunting at him, Locke dodged this easily. The soldier slashed widely at Locke, who leaped over the blade's path and garroted the footsoldier in mid-jump.
The captain unleashed his dogs (where the hell do they find these things?) upon the moogle war party. A ferocious doberman pounced on a moogle and began to devour it. "K-U-P-O--!!!" the largest moogle screamed, and ran over to the beast. Leaving its prey half-eaten, he turned to the new adversary, baring its bloody fangs. The moogle
smacked the dog in the skull with the butt of his pike, which made it
flinch. The moogle jammed the pike into the ground, and proceeded
to...dance. The thing dances at a time like this? thought Locke, after
gutting the last private. What happened next, Locke had even less of an
idea. The moogle stopped moving, and the dog did, as well. It proceeded
to sink into the ground. A large blue portal opened where dirt once was,
and the dog fell into it, howling. As it closed, the moogle hefted its spear
again and chased down another dog.
Locke whirled suddenly on the surprised captain and slashed at him with an icepick-style dirk cleave. The captain gashed Locke's
stomach, who yelped in pain. The captain then impaled a moogle, who
was readying his serrated boomerang for him. The largest moogle fed
another doberman his spear.
Another moogle leaped from above them and clubbed the captain over the helmet. The noise was atrocious--both helm and skull could be heard crunching. Each moogle was now wearing a pink coat, and one of them was fashioning itself a necklace for itself out of the captain's entrails. The largest moogle scooped up his half-eaten comrade, and, in his other hand, lifted his impaled brethren. He scuttled off, back into the caverns.
As they departed, Locke called to them, "Thank you, moo--gaaah.." he flinched, his wound not exactly repairing itself. Drinking a tonic, he thought he heard another, eerie voice come from the moogles' cavern.
"Dammit, kupo!!" it reverberated.
Locke, after raising an eyebrow, picked up the jadehaired girl, and proceeded to climb up the stairs which the guards had once followed to their dooms.
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Vision returned to her slowly. At first, she could only see the
orange lights of the hardly-roaring lanterns. Then, she noticed the
outline of the cave. Finally, she realized a fellow who had donned a
headband over his silver hair staring at her with an odd look, licking his
lips. He seemed to suddenly realize she was awake, and jumped back,
startled. But Terra, too, was alarmed. "Aiiieeee!! A cannibal!!" she cried,
tumbling backwards.
The young man smiled uneasily. "Don't worry, miss. I won't hurt you...(but eating you might not be so bad)," he said, the last part under his breath again.
"Come again?" Terra asked, daunted.
Locke smirked. "Never you mind. My name's Locke Cole. May I ask your name?" he asked Arvishly.
"Me...? I'm...Terra," she said slowly.
"Only Terra? No last name?" he said to her, in an I'm-Not-Really-Paying-Attention type of way.
"Terra Bradford....um...where are we?" Terra revised herself.
"The Narshe Mines. Looks like you took quite a spill. You had a
head wound after I---uh, after that fight, so I tore off some of my sleeve to
fix it," Locke stated, hiding the fact that he dropped her, and trying to
make a good impression.
She noticed the cloth tied around her forehead. It probably didn't look much unlike Locke's bandana. She stood up and dusted herself off. "How did you find me?" she asked Locke.
"Oh, that? Well, my friend asked me to find you, just as I was in town. We must be destined to be together!" he said, grinning.
Terra frowned. It had taken her a while, but she finally caught
onto Locke's passes. She changed the subject. "How do we get out of
here?"
Locke smiled, now. Turning, he dragged a rock down the wall,
where it locked in place. The cave behind him opened to the outside
world. It was still night, but it had stopped snowing. "Voila! Onward to
Figaro, Terra dearest!"
As they left the cavern, they appeared at the entrance to Narshe. The snow crunched under their boots, and made her toes cold. Speeding up, Locke still led past a building. It was a long, abnormal building, with a thick, sturdy wooden door. Eyes stared out of the windows, mouthing curses at the two. "It's time to leave, I guess," Locke said simply, watching the people watch him.
"Where are we going to?" Terra asked.
"We're headed to Figaro Castle. I need to do something there first, before we go to the Returners' hideout." returned Locke.
"Returners?" asked Terra.
"Yep. An Anit-Imperial group. I'm a loyal member! Heheh," he
smiled. Terra ignored him, and stepped out into where the road met the
snow.
Mountains surrounded Narshe on virtually all sides. Only to the south was a valley. A chill wind blew from the north peaks, and bore
down on their backs. The sky was purple, and was fast changing color. It
was dawn now.
"So, how did the Empire draft you, Terra?" asked Locke, after a mile of silence.
Terra pondered the question a moment. "I'm not sure. I was
cornered by this strangely dressed man one moment, and....the next
thing I remember, I was lying in bed in a man's house. He had kind
of...grayish brown hair, and a weird accent. All of that, and my name...are all that I remember."
Locke stopped in his tracks. "You have amnesia?!"
Terra nodded slowly. "I suppose so," she conceded.
Locke shook his head. "Imperial bastards! Oh--wait. Gray-brown hair and a weird accent? A middle-aged fella?" Locke persisted.
Terra nodded. "That's Arvis. He can be a bit temperamental, but I guess it's just my charming personality, but he gets pissed when I'm around," Locke laughed.
Locke, however, was surprised when Terra laughed. "You're not really all that charming!" she laughed.
"Whaat? Come on..." Locke frowned, and stepped in front of her. Locke made a sad puppy-dog-esque look at her.
Terra smiled, and resumed walking.
Before too long, the snow became dirt. After another mile, the dirt became grass. Within three hours of travel, they were wading through a desert. The sun, now, was visible. It set the sky aflame and warmed the air. It would be perfectly comfortable were it not for the sand.
There, about a thousand paces forward, was a castle. The turrets and base seemed to be both black and light brown--likely form
sandstorms. Terra couldn't recall ever seeing such a thing in her life. "Is
that Figaro Castle?" she asked.
Locke fought off the urge to say, 'Well, I don't see any other castles around here, toots,' but chose his words better. "Yeah. Not too far off now--not for a castle. Nice place, right?" said Locke, high-stepping
through sand.
Terra knew that it was not a large castle by castle standards, but she couldn't help but marvel at it. After all, she'd only seen such a thing in picture books before.
All characters, symbols, and Final Fantasy copyright of
Squaresoft, Inc.
Prepare for some different characterization.
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Chapter One:
Narshe's Take on the Empire
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One thousand years ago, the War of the Magi reduced the world to barren wastelands, and magic ceased to exist. Iron, gunpowder, and machinery were, in time, rediscovered. Now, technology reigns the
planet again. There are still those who would enslave the world by
reviving the dread destructive force known as "magic." Can it be that
they which wish for such a thing are about to make an apocalyptic and
senseless mistake...?
Three soldiers trudged up the mountainside. Two were males,
dressed up in brown uniforms issued by the Empire. The other was a
girl, with red armor and green hair. Her face was emotionless. The three
rode in armor suits known as Magitek, which were large robotic attack
machines. "There's the town..." said Captain Biggs.
"It's hard to believe that there's an Esper in there," stated Wedge.
"Do you think it's alive still?" queried Biggs.
"Probably, judging by Kefka's vehemence in the briefing," assured Wedge.
Biggs glanced at the girl. "Why is she here? I thought she killed fifty of our soldiers-- and in three minutes!"
"That slave crown on her head manipulates her into doin' what we tell her to do. There's no prob as long as she has that," said Wedge.
Biggs looked into the snowy horizon as he adjusted his Imperial helmet. His gloved fingers slid icily across it. "We're going to approach Narshe from the east. Let's head out!"
The snow raged by the three. Their Magitek armors creaked from the frost. Biggs' eyes stung from the icy winds. In the darkness of night, the snowcapped mountains loomed as if sentinels. Narshe finally came into view.
Narshe was a lovely town at night. Were Biggs on vacation here, he'd surely enjoy getting frostbite in such a place. "Let's put the girl on point. There's no sense in US being risked. Forward!" said Wedge.
The Magitek crashed upon the metal gratings. From the ringing sound coming out of Wedge's unit, he had broken leg hydraulics. All of Narshe could hear them going forth. Smoke poured from chimneys. The "Paradise" Inn passed them quickly upon the right. If Biggs weren't on duty, he'd have stopped for a drink or three. That, and if he wasn't in an Empire warzone. Lords, he wanted to be sloshed right about now.
A Narshe guard rushed up at the trio, holding back two giant
Dobermans. "Pompous Magitek-ridin' pigs!! Sic 'em!" the guard cried,
unleashing the Dobermans and pulling out his own sword.
The girl alongside Biggs shouted an order at her Magitek unit
monotonously. It charged forth, opened its chest compartment, and
sprayed riot gas. Inhaling the gas, the guard and dogs shriveled and fell,
obviously deceased. "...the hell was that??" wondered Wedge.
The girl opened her mouth, but said nothing. "Ignore that, Wedge. Let's just...keep going." said Biggs.
Security wasn't quite as tight as expected, but there was another pair of guards lumbering towards them. "I got this one! ...huh?" said Wedge. A guard slashed at Wedge ferociously, carving into him and his Magitek. "You bastard! Aaagh! The Magitek's scratched! Kefka's gonna kill me!!" Wedge channeled his energy into the Magitek cannon, and fired lightning through the same guard. The girl closed her eyes.
"Is she unconscious?!" asked Biggs.
"Sir!! Watch out!" interrupted Wedge. Biggs, whose back was
turned, is gashed by the remaining guard.
"Arrogant Imperial scum! Don't you turn yer back on me!"
screamed the guard. The girl opened her eyes as blue beams
surrounded the guard, and he slowly disappears. Biggs stood silent.
"Hmph. Fifty guards, indeed," muttered Wedge.
The item shop was a horrid sight--small, jammed in-between its neighboring buildings as if it were made half-assedly, alongside a crappy paintjob. Its windmills almost broke from the wind. The intersection showed how the town looked alike on all sides. Biggs wouldn't have known which way was which if he were spun around and ordered to walk one way--or if he got blitzed. The thought of which just made him want to finish this assignment faster.
Snow gradually replaced grating, and the caverns drew closer. A large group of guards and their pet mammoths engaged them. Biggs fired a beam of ice energy from his Magitek cannon at one of the guards. The girl fired a large, armor-piercing missile at a mammoth, which vanished promptly. Wedge flowed electricity through the remaining guard. It was then that Biggs was sent sprawling from the mammoth's tusks. "Captain!!" cried Wedge.
The girl waved her arms and sent a wash of flames at the
mammoth, engulfing it. "Let's keep going," sighed Biggs.
"You're wounded!" stated Wedge.
"Listen to yerself... damn it, don't you worry about me!"
admonished Biggs. As they stepped through, bridges passed overhead.
A large mineshaft entrance stood before them.
"...according to our sources, the frozen Esper was found...in here," stated Wedge.
Inside, candles flickered sparsely. There was barely enough light to see, let alone walk. Biggs stepped on a rat, which squeaked loudly as he did so. "Place's infested," said Biggs blandly.
"Y'don't say, captain," Wedge said sarcastically.
A large door was before them now. It stood twenty feet tall and
fifteen feet across. From the look of it, no humans could open the
massive thing. "Stand back...I got it," said Biggs, stepping backwards and
then dashing into the door. It crumbled in upon itself from the Magitek's
force.
"Wow, Captain...you're sooo strong," Wedge laughed. Biggs was
silent as he stepped over the debris and into the doorway. A guard,
stumbling over himself, approached them.
"We're not giving up the Esper! Whelk, get 'em!!" called the guard.
Biggs and Wedge exchanged glances, as soon as a pair of eyes
glinted in the quasi-darkness. The eyes were followed by a long, slimy
pink head and a shell adorned with spikes the size of Magitek. This
'Whelk' was a gigantic...snail. "Hold it! Remember our briefing?" asked
Biggs.
"What about it?!" demanded Wedge.
"This thing stores thunder in its shell...so whatever you do, only attack the head!!" stated Biggs.
"How do you know that this is what they were talking about?!"
asked Wedge.
Biggs stared at him a moment. "I don't exactly see any other
gargantuan snails around here. Do you? Now, attack!" Biggs said,
smugly.
Wedge cursed at him under the noise of his Fire cannon. The eyes seemed to scorch and pop a little. Biggs followed suit, and the eyes
scorched moreso. Their girl companion opened her Magitek's chest
cannon and fired a missile at the head. "Gruuu..." grumbled Whelk as the
cave rumbled along with him. It withdrew into its shell, but Wedge was
already firing at it again.
"Stooppp!!" Biggs screamed at Wedge.
"CRAP!" Wedge cursed as the flames licked the pearled shell. The shell glowed, and a pillar of thunder shocked through Wedge's Magitek. "Ahhhh?!" he inclined his voice as the Magitek began to overheat.
"It's gonna blow! JUMP!!" Biggs called. Lightning flickered through and around the Magitek armor. Wedge, eyes wide in horror, crouched to leap off.
As he was springing up, the armor imploded upon itself, and
Wedge was sent flying from the momentum. He lay there, bloody. Biggs
roared a battle cry, and whirled on Whelk, who was just coming out of
his shell. "DAMN YOU!!!!" He unloaded his Magitek energy on the head,
firing fire and ice beams from each cannon. The girl, undaunted by
Wedge's condition, sent another missile to collide with Whelk's soft head. Whelk screamed at them, and its head collapsed on the floor. Biggs controlled his Magitek over to where Wedge lay. "Are ya...Wedge, are you dead?!"
No response came from the soldier. "WEDGE!!" Biggs cried,
jumping from his Magitek and checking on him.
Wedge coughed blood. He was still alive, but in unstable condition. "I'm...alright," coughed Wedge.
"Don't lie! You're near enough dead!" Biggs stated.
"Captain? Why're you so concerned?" Wedge asked.
Biggs coughed, and said smoothly, "It won't look good for my
record if I let my subordinate die." Biggs didn't want to tell Wedge that
he saw him as a friend--that was a weakness as an Imperial soldier.
"If you say so, Captain," Wedge said doubtfully. Biggs ignored him, and dragged him up to his own Magitek armor.
"Let's go, " Biggs said simply. He scooped up a potion, and moved into the next cavern.
The area was large, roomy, and airy. It smelled of frost...if frost
really even had a smell. Maybe it was just that Biggs was getting used to
the cold. A small set of stairs led up to a large ice crystal. "That must be
it. The frozen Esper..." said Biggs. The crystal hums, and glints blue.
The girl alongside him looked at the crystal and the Esper inside, with a lamentatious look upon her face. For once, she showed some emotion. "What's up? Why're you...? Biggs--the slave crown isn't
working?!" said Wedge, mixedly.
Biggs was silent, as the girl approached the Esper. The Esper
began to glow blue. "Where's the light coming from?! ...Uwaaaahh!!"
Wedge shrieked, and vanished from Biggs' Magitek cockpit.
Biggs' eyes widened. "Hey!? Wedge? WEDGE!?! What's going on...?!" he cried.
Biggs' last sight was the azure light pouring from both the girl and the Esper, as her Magitek exploded and Biggs, too, died a death fit only for the "Imperial scum" that he was...
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Her eyes opened, fluttering and fleetingly. A high ceiling towered over her. "Where...am I? My head hurts..." the girl asked. She turned her head to observe the room. It was rather blue, with a red carpet contrasting it vividly. She was lying in a bed, and she had several scars on her forearms. They sill burned. The room, in itself, was also warm.
An elderly man stood before her now. He had fair hair which
turned gray at the sides of his head, and stood about five and a half feet
tall--the same as her. Her eyes focused upon him, as he pursed his lips to
speak. "Take it easy, there. You're still injured. Ahh, well, you're in
Narshe now. I figured that you wouldn't remember getting here," said
the man.
The girl's brow furrowed in thought, but it hurt her so to do it.
"Why wouldn't I remember anything?" she asked of him.
"Well, you don't remember anything, do you?" he asked--well,
hypothetically, at least. He didn't expect any answer. After observing
her puzzlement, he held up a darkened silver crown. "This, my dear, is a
slave crown. The Empire used it to manipulate your actions. They're
getting a bit rare nowadays--I'm surprised that they used one on one so
precious to them. They're dangerous, after all," he rambled.
"...why don't I remember anything?" she asked him.
"I was just getting to that, my dear. They render memory useless while a person wears it. You'll recall everything within a year or so," he said to her, smiling warmly.
In the reflection of the slave crown, she saw herself. Not more
than eighteen, with light green hair. She wore red and white armor, and
she looked clueless. "...my name is Terra," the girl said, still looking at
her reflection.
The man jumped with a start. "I've never heard of anyone
recovering that fast..." said he, with surprise.
The front door came under much scratching. Voices could be
heard behind it. Dogs' barks came from the door. "Give us the girl and
the Empire's Magitek armor! She is an officer! Return her!" shouted a
voice.
"What's this Empire? What's a Magitek? And who are you?" Terra asked.
"Th-there's no time to explain all of that! All in due time, Terra!
Now, quickly! Out the back door; I'll hold them off!" he said hurriedly to
her, motioning to the door just behind the bed.
Without wasting any time, she made a break for the door and
swung it wide open. She could hear the front door being broken down by
enraged Imperials. Closing the door behind her, she dashed across a
long bridge outside. The wind was cold against her skin, and the night
was very blustery, especially up as high as she was. Guards gathered
below her. They shouted something unintelligible to each other, and
made off towards the mountains to the north. She enters the mineshafts, guided only by barely-alit lanterns.
The place smelled of old lamp oil. Terra's eyes hurt from the
darkness, as she strained to see. A glint approached her fast. "What's
that?" she asked to herself, looking at it fast approaching. Eyes widening
as it did not cease, she ducked. A wrench struck the wall beside her. She
whirled back to see a guard dressed as a mechanic, opening his tool box
for another wrench. Behind him was a gaseous blue vapor.
"Where do you think you're going?" said the guard, dashing at her with his wrench. The vaporite hissed and spread over her. She found herself slowed down signifcantly, as well as being struck repeatedly by the guard. She unsheathed her knife and ran him through. As the guard slumped to the ground, she ignited the vaporite with Fire. It hissed wildly as it faded.
Terra rested a while, letting her burns cool a little. She was
startled, however, by more voices. "We got her!" one said.
Springing up, she backed away from the new plethora of guards. The wall was nearing her back as they closed in on her. Their toothy grins were dark under their umberish hats. Terra's left foot found no restistance suddenly--nor did her right foot. She was falling fast through the caves. The guards rushed faster still towards her, but did not follow her.
She collided with a softer turf below. She got up for a moment, but her vision blurred. She collapsed to the floor, and her consciousness
vanished.
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The door swung open. The young fellow had just left the mines to the north, and smiled at the warmth of the home. Adjusting his
headband, he strode into the den. His elderly friend stood there, staring
off into the fireplace.
"Crap! He went and had a heart attack on me! Waaaake up, old
man!" the young man cried, shaking him adamantly.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Locke!?" demanded the old man.
Locke grinned as the man recomposed himself. "Just checkin' up on ya, Arvis," he said with flair.
Arvis looked at Locke sheepishly. "It took you long enough to get here, might I say. How's your thievery going?" he asked Locke.
Locke turned red with fury. "I PREFER the term 'Treasure
Hunter'!"
"What semantic nonsense," Arvis replied.
"There's a HUGE difference, old timer!" Locke shouted.
Arvis shook his head. "Anyway, I called you here for a reason. I want you to meet up with...a girl," he said hesitantly.
Locke's ears perked up as if he were an elf. "A girl?! Is she hot?" he said, grinning.
Arvis looked daggers at him. "Just because you haven't scored
since your last girlfriend doesn't mean that you need to act like a horny
teenager every breathing moment!" he admonished.
Locke's eyes widened. "Quiiiet! A lady might hear you!" he said, looking around wildly.
Arvis shook his head again. "You're familiar with the female
Imperial soldier, correct? The Magitek Knight?"
Locke turned red again. "Her?!? Come on! Give me something to work with, Arvis!!"
Arvis was the one to turn red with fury this time. "Now listen
here! Imperials are currently raiding this city! I implore you, help her!
I'll talk to the elder and request membership with that underground
resistance movement, the Returners. Narshe can't survive this
neutrality. Your job--" Arvis eyeballed Locke, pausing, "--is to help the
Imperial girl out. She was drafted unwillingly, shall we say."
Locke waved away Arvis' threats. "Yeah, yeah...save the girl and romance later? What a crock..."
Arvis looked unbothered by the youth's constant idiocy. "Whether you like it or not, you're going to help her. I suggest doing it whether you like it," Arvis said in a no-nonsense, ominous way. His eyes shifted towards the large broadsword mounted on his wall.
Locke smiled uneasily. "Hey-hey-hey now! There's no reason to get all aggressive! (especially not with ol' Excalibur over there!)" said Locke, with the latter part under his breath. "I'll do it."
Arvis smiled warmly, a cool comparison to how he had been ever since Locke had first opened his mouth. "Good. You'll find her in the Mines. After you find her, head first to Figaro Castle and talk with King Edgar. He'll help us Narshians out," said Arvis in his traditional
gentlemanly tone.
"Got it. Seeya later, pops!" Locke said impishly, dashing back out the door, returning to the mines.
Arvis stood stock-still, and then shook his head. "I swear, that boy does it just to irk me..."
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Locke found a large hole in the ground, not far from the walls. It was barely visible in the dark. Looking down, he noticed someone. Locke heard voices off to his right, where crude steps were fashioned out of stone. Could the Empire have found her already? Dismissing the matter, he knelt to pound a stake into the ground. Satisfied with the sturdiness, he rummaged through his pack to retrieve a length of rope. Still bent, he tied it around the stake snugly. Geronimo! thought Locke.
He shimmied down, trying not to burn his hands. It was not a long way--a person could probably jump down and land cattishly. If they
didn't quite nail the jump, however, it would be lights out for them
swiftly.
The cave was well-lit (for a cave), and the lanterns seemed to have fresh fuel in them. Many stalagmites formed a short distance ahead, but considering that Locke was hardly the one to care for mine architecture (but then again, who is?), he couldn't help but notice them. Before him was a girl, face-down in the dirt. Oddly enough, she had emerald hair. Locke pondered this a moment. "Green? Must be one of those 'newfangled dyes' that Arvis keeps talkin' about," he brushed the matter off, and hauled the girl up to a sitting position. She was very unconscious (if such a thing can be measured in degrees, she was well off to be measured), and dirt caked her arms and face, where she had apparently fallen. Locke grinned to himself, pretending to talk to her. "You're quite the dirty one, aren't ya?" as he laughingly smudged away some grime.
Footsteps loomed in the air. Locke let go of the green-haired lass, who sat still. He rose to his feet, looking past the stalagmites. A
cavalcade of soldiers were descending the stairs. "One...two-three...four-five-six...seven?! Dammit! How the hell do I take on all of these bozos?!!" he yelled.
"There they are!!" a footsoldier exclaimed.
Locke began to sweat great beads. Looking around, he found no escape. As the Imperials approached, an unusual sound came from
behind him. He turned to hear it, once again.
Kupo!
Small, three-foot-tall, batwinged cream puff creatures emerged from a small offshoot chasm. A singular red ball floated above each head, as if impaired antennae. Kupo!
"Moogles?" Locke said, with a nigh-inquisitive tone in his voice.
They all nod, and cry out again. Kupo! Kupo! Kupo!
"Are you...saying you'll help me out with these punks?" Locke
looked at each one's eyes, each seeming polished to perfection. One,
larger than the others, shook his head.
"Whaaaaaat!?" Locke exclaimed, restraining himself from
strangling the death-wishing moogle.
The moogle, playfully, laughed at him, then made a gesture with its stubby paw. It then nodded, and readied its lance. The others brandished their own armaments. Locke looked abashed, but drew his own dirk nevertheless. "Now, you stay right here, sweetie," Locke murmured at the girl, winking at her. Unsurprisingly, she didn't make any nasty retorts, as perfect strangers ofttimes do.
They went to work fast and gruesomely. The largest moogle ran soldiers through without mercy. A moogle fighting beside Locke bashed in a guard's head with its club. Locke felt insignificant to these
bloodthirsty, adorable beings.
An Imperial rushed at Locke, shortsword drawn readily. He
swiped at Locke in a cleave. Laughing and taunting at him, Locke dodged this easily. The soldier slashed widely at Locke, who leaped over the blade's path and garroted the footsoldier in mid-jump.
The captain unleashed his dogs (where the hell do they find these things?) upon the moogle war party. A ferocious doberman pounced on a moogle and began to devour it. "K-U-P-O--!!!" the largest moogle screamed, and ran over to the beast. Leaving its prey half-eaten, he turned to the new adversary, baring its bloody fangs. The moogle
smacked the dog in the skull with the butt of his pike, which made it
flinch. The moogle jammed the pike into the ground, and proceeded
to...dance. The thing dances at a time like this? thought Locke, after
gutting the last private. What happened next, Locke had even less of an
idea. The moogle stopped moving, and the dog did, as well. It proceeded
to sink into the ground. A large blue portal opened where dirt once was,
and the dog fell into it, howling. As it closed, the moogle hefted its spear
again and chased down another dog.
Locke whirled suddenly on the surprised captain and slashed at him with an icepick-style dirk cleave. The captain gashed Locke's
stomach, who yelped in pain. The captain then impaled a moogle, who
was readying his serrated boomerang for him. The largest moogle fed
another doberman his spear.
Another moogle leaped from above them and clubbed the captain over the helmet. The noise was atrocious--both helm and skull could be heard crunching. Each moogle was now wearing a pink coat, and one of them was fashioning itself a necklace for itself out of the captain's entrails. The largest moogle scooped up his half-eaten comrade, and, in his other hand, lifted his impaled brethren. He scuttled off, back into the caverns.
As they departed, Locke called to them, "Thank you, moo--gaaah.." he flinched, his wound not exactly repairing itself. Drinking a tonic, he thought he heard another, eerie voice come from the moogles' cavern.
"Dammit, kupo!!" it reverberated.
Locke, after raising an eyebrow, picked up the jadehaired girl, and proceeded to climb up the stairs which the guards had once followed to their dooms.
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Vision returned to her slowly. At first, she could only see the
orange lights of the hardly-roaring lanterns. Then, she noticed the
outline of the cave. Finally, she realized a fellow who had donned a
headband over his silver hair staring at her with an odd look, licking his
lips. He seemed to suddenly realize she was awake, and jumped back,
startled. But Terra, too, was alarmed. "Aiiieeee!! A cannibal!!" she cried,
tumbling backwards.
The young man smiled uneasily. "Don't worry, miss. I won't hurt you...(but eating you might not be so bad)," he said, the last part under his breath again.
"Come again?" Terra asked, daunted.
Locke smirked. "Never you mind. My name's Locke Cole. May I ask your name?" he asked Arvishly.
"Me...? I'm...Terra," she said slowly.
"Only Terra? No last name?" he said to her, in an I'm-Not-Really-Paying-Attention type of way.
"Terra Bradford....um...where are we?" Terra revised herself.
"The Narshe Mines. Looks like you took quite a spill. You had a
head wound after I---uh, after that fight, so I tore off some of my sleeve to
fix it," Locke stated, hiding the fact that he dropped her, and trying to
make a good impression.
She noticed the cloth tied around her forehead. It probably didn't look much unlike Locke's bandana. She stood up and dusted herself off. "How did you find me?" she asked Locke.
"Oh, that? Well, my friend asked me to find you, just as I was in town. We must be destined to be together!" he said, grinning.
Terra frowned. It had taken her a while, but she finally caught
onto Locke's passes. She changed the subject. "How do we get out of
here?"
Locke smiled, now. Turning, he dragged a rock down the wall,
where it locked in place. The cave behind him opened to the outside
world. It was still night, but it had stopped snowing. "Voila! Onward to
Figaro, Terra dearest!"
As they left the cavern, they appeared at the entrance to Narshe. The snow crunched under their boots, and made her toes cold. Speeding up, Locke still led past a building. It was a long, abnormal building, with a thick, sturdy wooden door. Eyes stared out of the windows, mouthing curses at the two. "It's time to leave, I guess," Locke said simply, watching the people watch him.
"Where are we going to?" Terra asked.
"We're headed to Figaro Castle. I need to do something there first, before we go to the Returners' hideout." returned Locke.
"Returners?" asked Terra.
"Yep. An Anit-Imperial group. I'm a loyal member! Heheh," he
smiled. Terra ignored him, and stepped out into where the road met the
snow.
Mountains surrounded Narshe on virtually all sides. Only to the south was a valley. A chill wind blew from the north peaks, and bore
down on their backs. The sky was purple, and was fast changing color. It
was dawn now.
"So, how did the Empire draft you, Terra?" asked Locke, after a mile of silence.
Terra pondered the question a moment. "I'm not sure. I was
cornered by this strangely dressed man one moment, and....the next
thing I remember, I was lying in bed in a man's house. He had kind
of...grayish brown hair, and a weird accent. All of that, and my name...are all that I remember."
Locke stopped in his tracks. "You have amnesia?!"
Terra nodded slowly. "I suppose so," she conceded.
Locke shook his head. "Imperial bastards! Oh--wait. Gray-brown hair and a weird accent? A middle-aged fella?" Locke persisted.
Terra nodded. "That's Arvis. He can be a bit temperamental, but I guess it's just my charming personality, but he gets pissed when I'm around," Locke laughed.
Locke, however, was surprised when Terra laughed. "You're not really all that charming!" she laughed.
"Whaat? Come on..." Locke frowned, and stepped in front of her. Locke made a sad puppy-dog-esque look at her.
Terra smiled, and resumed walking.
Before too long, the snow became dirt. After another mile, the dirt became grass. Within three hours of travel, they were wading through a desert. The sun, now, was visible. It set the sky aflame and warmed the air. It would be perfectly comfortable were it not for the sand.
There, about a thousand paces forward, was a castle. The turrets and base seemed to be both black and light brown--likely form
sandstorms. Terra couldn't recall ever seeing such a thing in her life. "Is
that Figaro Castle?" she asked.
Locke fought off the urge to say, 'Well, I don't see any other castles around here, toots,' but chose his words better. "Yeah. Not too far off now--not for a castle. Nice place, right?" said Locke, high-stepping
through sand.
Terra knew that it was not a large castle by castle standards, but she couldn't help but marvel at it. After all, she'd only seen such a thing in picture books before.